


Revealed

by DarkenedFlare



Category: Varian and the Seven Kingdoms, tangled the series
Genre: Cassandra (Disney) - Freeform, Eugene (Disney) - Freeform, Gen, Quirin (Disney) - Freeform, Rapunzel (Disney) - Freeform, Ruddiger (Disney) - Freeform, Ulla (Varian and the seven kingdoms)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:02:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24727183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkenedFlare/pseuds/DarkenedFlare
Summary: When Varian and his little crew end up stumbling into the House of Yesterday’s Tomorrow, Varian just might end up having his past involuntarily revealed.
Comments: 17
Kudos: 124





	1. Chapter 1

Varian looked up at the sky, worried. The wind was slamming sharp tiny snowflakes into his face and bare lower arm, chilling him to the bone.

Hugo looked over at him and smirked. “I told you that buying a coat in the last kingdom would help.”

Varian huffed. “Yeah, but those coats were so expensive. Buying those chemicals and vials were more important and would help us more.”

“Well, you can’t help us more if you freeze to death,” Hugo shrugged.

Varian sent Hugo a glare, but couldn’t come up with a good response.

Varian, Hugo, Nuru, and Yong were traveling to Corona after collecting the six totems and were on their way to the Eternal Library. Prometheus, an old donkey that Varian’s father (Quirin) had sent with him, was clopping beside them, a few bags with supplies draped across his back. And, of course, Varian’s raccoon Ruddiger was curled up against Varian’s neck.

“Do you see that up ahead?” Nuru asked, eyes narrowed as she stared at something in the distance.

Varian’s gaze shifted to where the princess indicated, and he could see it, too. It was a large building, possibly an inn, with smoke puffing out of a chimney.

“We might as well ask if we can stay the night there. This storm’ll probably only get worse.” Varian frowned deeply as he looked around. “I hate snow.”

Yong smiled. “I like it. It makes fire feel even better!”

Nuru looked at the twelve year old. “Don’t start a fire. You’ll end up causing a massive explosion, even with just matches and wood.”

Yong fake pouted for a moment before returning to a goofy smile. “You’re probably right.”

The group reached the building, which seemed to be just an extremely large seashell. Varian reaches out and knocked on the door. A white-haired mustached man opened the door and gave them all a small smile,

“Ah, I see all of you must be very cold from the storm, yes?” He asked with a thick French accent.

“Yeah, sorry to bother you, but we don’t think we’ll be able to make it to the next town,” Varian chuckled nervously.

“Of course, of course. Come in. I am Matthews, and this is the House of Yesterday’s Tomorrow.”

“Isn’t that just today?” Varian and Hugo asked simultaneously.

Matthews smiled. “It makes it seem more prestigious this way, no?”

As they all entered, they stated their names. Matthews showed them to some spare bedrooms before leading Prometheus to a separate room, which Matthews had said was an indoor stable.

The rooms were very nice, as luxurious as those in the Corona palace. Varian’s bed was massive, probably a king-sized, with soft feathery pillows and a silky red comforter. When Varian sat down on it, it felt like he was laying on a cloud. Ruddiger had hopped off his shoulders, now exploring every crevice of the new environment. After Varian had familiarized himself with the room enough, he exited to the hallway to meet up with his friends, Ruddiger following quickly behind.

Hugo and Nuru were already waiting there, Hugo leaning against the wall while Nuru was standing straight up. Yong joined them soon after. 

Hugo looked around at all of the expensive items, probably scheming a way to steal as much of it as possible without being caught. “I’m going to go explore this place a bit. You guys wanna come?”

Yong nodded excitedly, while Nuru made a hum of agreement. “Sure,” Varian grinned, up for an adventure.

The four of them, or five if you counted Ruddiger, didn’t expect to find anything of note. Maybe some more guest bathrooms and a handful of bathrooms, but definitely not what they found.

The first door they opened had three yipping wolf pups, who jumped up on them. Nuru had to basically drag Yong out of that room.

The next door they opened was even stranger. It seemed to lead outside, even though they were on the second floor. Even stranger than that, though, was the bright sun, clear skies, and vibrant green grass.

Ruddiger jumped off of Varian’s shoulders, scampering out of the door. The four humans turned to do the same, only to be stopped with the door slamming shut.

Hugo grabbed the doorknob. “Locked,” he huffed. 

Oddly enough, there was no keyhole, so Hugo was unable to pick the lock. Brute force, alchemy, and explosives didn’t seem to work, either. It was as if the door was made of steel. The four, all truly taking in their surroundings for the first time, spotted a town only a few minute’s walk away. Varian swore that it wasn’t there when they entered.

“Guys?!” Yong squealed.

“Great,” Hugo grumbled.

The door, which was just there, had disappeared into thin air.


	2. The Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew starts to realize where they are

The group had decided that the best course of action would be to travel over to the town and figure out where they were at. Varian knee where they were at already, though. What bothered him the most, however, was the sight of everything.

There weren’t any black rocks, but that wasn’t anything new. It had been about three years since the princess had gotten rid of them all. But everything looked slightly different, still. There had still been a couple of buildings with giant holes, or ones that were sloppily patched up. The ground was usually pretty uneven, also, from all the holes the rocks made. The most reasonable explanation was that they had repaired all of the damage in the seven months he had been gone. But, then, wouldn’t his dad have said something in the letters he sent?

Nobody seemed to be responding to anything the group asked.

Everything seemed to become simultaneously clearer and more confusing at once. Yong had reached over to poke someone’s arm to get their attention, but his hand slipped right through as if the person was some sort of mirage.

A moment before the group (namely, Yong) was about to freak out, something even more outlandish happened.

Waddling right next to them was a little Varian, about three or four, wearing an apron, gloves, and still having that blue strip of hair.

“Is that...?” Nuru started.

“Yep,” Varian breathed.

The little Varian was giggling as he ran from a kind-looking woman with ginger hair. She growled playfully and scooped the boy up, causing him to squeal.

“C’mon, Varian. It’s time for dinner,” she announced once she set him down, ruffling his hair.

Varian smiled and nodded. “Okay, Mommy!”

Varian’s mother took his hand and they walked off to their house.

The present (or possibly future?) Varian followed after them, the other three following close behind. They reached Varian’s home soon enough; a rather large house, at least compared to the others in the area, with plenty of trees surrounding it.

Once inside, little Varian raced to the kitchen to meet his father, who was cooking some sort of soup.

Varian’s mother smiled at him, Varian’s father returning it quickly.

Present Varian smiled longingly, most likely missing this time in his life. 

“Hey, buddy? Could you go play for a few minutes while I finish dinner?”

Varian nodded to his father before taking a few wooden toy soldiers and having them battle each other (with quite a lot of added sound effects).

“When will you return, Ulla?” 

Ulla, the ginger woman, smiled sadly at him. “It shouldn’t be long, Quirin. Possibly a few months or a year. I’ll make sure to write.”

“This must be when she left to find the totems,” Varian whispered, like if he was any louder he might disturb this moment.

“Must you go?” Quirin questioned, still seeming anxious. “I know that you are able to protect yourself with your science-“

“Alchemy,” Ulla and Varian corrected in unison. “She really is just like you, isn’t she?” Nuru pointed out, smiling softly at how happy and nostalgic her friend seemed. 

“With your alchemy,” continued Quirin. “But is all of this trip really worth it right now? The Dark Kingdom collapsed only ten years ago, and I’m willing to believe that Edmund wouldn’t be very ecstatic to help you. Not only that, but the sundrop is still missing-“

Ulla took Quirin’s hands in hers. “It will be fine, dear. And just think of all the knowledge I could gather from the Eternal Library; the truth behind the sundrop and moonstone, how to cure fatal illnesses, new alchemical formulas...the list just goes on!”

Yong looked confused. “What’s the sundrop and moonstone.”

Varian tensed. “It’s...complicated. All you need to know right now is that, with any luck, we probably won’t have to deal with them again in our lifetime.”

“Well, with our luck, I’d be willing to bet that or something worse will happen,” Hugo smirked.

Varian, knowing that Hugo was right but not wanting to admit it, just ignored him and continued watching his parents’s conversation.

“Yes, but are you sure Donella would be the best partner for you?” Quirin asked. “Oh, she definitely isn’t,” put in Hugo, who was picking at his nails in a cocky way. Well, everything he did was cocky and egotistical, so that wasn’t anything new. 

Ulla’s eyebrows scrunched together in a mix of confused and agitated. “Of course! We have known each other for around six years now.”

“People can act like they’re your friend, when they’re really just trying to gain something from you,” Varian said softly, his eyes downcast.

Hugo, assuming the alchemist was referring to him, looked over at him in a apologetic way. Nuru attempted to talk to him about it, but Hugo quickly dismissed it, back to his usual smart-guy attitude.

“I don’t mean to doubt you, but Donella hasn’t been the most...stable minded person as of late,” Varian’s father noted. “Is she ever?” Hugo asked, rolling his eyes. Yong tilted his head to the side, thinking. “I think she must have been at some point, like when she was little.” “It was a rhetorical question, Yong.” Yong blushed slightly in embarrassment. “Oh.” 

“She is still my friend, and I trust her. And maybe on this journey, I can help her! Try to have her become more, as you put it, ‘stable minded’,” Ulla responded, making air quotes with her fingers.

Varian shifted slightly.

“Are you alright?” Nuru asked him.

Varian looked at her, surprised. “Oh, yeah! She just...reminds me of someone.”

Quirin sighed in defeat. “Just...be careful.”

Ulla gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Of course, dear.” She raised her voice so Varian could hear. “It’s time for dinner, buddy!”

The four’s sight grew bleary, like when you wear someone’s glasses with a heavy prescription. When it was clear again, they were somewhere else.

“Well!” Hugo looked around at where he was. “That was interesting.”


	3. Lollipops and Lanterns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some moments with little Varian before we get to the soul-crushing angst of the actual series.

“Where are we now?” Nuru inquired, looking around them.

“It’s the capital,” Varian responded.

The capital was very similar to how it looked in the present, the only real difference was the paths not being as worn and Attila not yet owning his pastry shop.

The crew found themselves being torn towards a sweet shop, which Varian informed them belonged to an “Uncle Monty”.

Inside, they were met with young Varian, looking very apathetic and spaced out, accompanied by his father. Varian had his signature goggles on top of his head (although they kept falling off). Nuru faintly recalled seeing them in Ulla’s satchel in the last memory.

“Hey there, Varian!” Monty beamed. 

Little Varian didn’t respond, just staring at the floor and rocking back-and-forth on his heels.

“Why’s he sad?” Yong asked.

Nuru shushed him. “If you watch, you will most likely discover that.”

Monty looked over at Quirin with sympathy. “Has she still not returned?”

Quirin shook his head. “News came yesterday. It was an incident while on the road.”

“Is this when Ulla was trapped in the library?” Hugo asked.

Varian nodded in confirmation.

Monty nodded sadly before reaching behind his counter. He pulled out a yellow lollipop and handed to little Varian.

“Here you go, kiddo!”

Young Varian took it, looking up at Monty, but still didn’t show much emotion.

“Geez, someone hit their emo stage early,” Hugo remarked.

Nuru nudged him in the ribs, causing him to let out an “Ow!” of surprise (definitely not because it stung). 

“He thinks his mother just died,” she hissed to him. “Be respectful!”

Hugo huffed.

“How much?” Quirin asked, taking out a few coins from his pocket.

Monty swatted his hand at Quirin. “It’s on the house.”

“Bu-“

“I insist.”

Varian let out a laugh. “I still don’t get why him and Rapunzel hate each other so much!”

Hugo rose an eyebrow. “Isn’t Princess Rapunzel, like, one of the kindest people in all the kingdoms?”

“And Uncle Monty seems really nice, too,” Yong chimed in.

Varian shrugged, still smiling.

Quirin gave Monty a small smile before bending down on his knees to talk to little Varian.

“Hey, buddy. I need to go do something important, so I need you to stay here with Uncle Monty, okay?”

The young Varian frowned, tears forming in his eyes. “But what if you don’t come back, like Mommy?”

Quirin squeezed his son’s shoulder in reassurance. “I will. I promise.”

Varian flinched.

Young Varian squirmed. “What’s a promise?”

“A promise is like...a thing you will do. Something you will always get done or always make sure of, no matter what,” Quirin explained. “Promises shouldn’t be taken lightly though, you must make sure it’s something that you can and will do. A promise is something you should never break.”

“Yeah, that’s what it _should_ be,” Varian whispered.

Quirin’s gaze seemed wistful for a few moments before he snapped out of it, gave his son a quick hug and a goodbye, then left the store.

A few children, a little older than the young Varian, were playing outside. Little Varian looked up at Monty.

“Could I go outside?”

Monty smiled, his hands on his hips. “Of course, kiddo! C’mon!”

Mini Varian made his way outside, licking his lollipop. Under the watchful eye of Monty, he walked a few feet, staring up at all the different shops. One townsperson tried to ruffle his hair, but the boy squirmed and grumbled. He waddled over to where two teenage criminals were stuck in a cage, one hitting their head against said cage. Little Varian went up to them, licked his lollipop with a disinterested expression on his face, and strolled back over to Monty.

Varian smirked at them, as if recalling a humorous story.

The memory switched. They were still in the captital, but this time it was night and there were a whole lot more people in the courtyard.

Varian, who seemed to be about six or seven, was holding his father’s arm. Quirin was carrying a small golden lantern with a sun design on it.

Little Varian looked up at the dark star-speckled sky and spotted the crescent moon. He tugged in his father’s shirt, and pointed up at it.

“Look! That must be the waxing moon,” he told Quirin. “It just a few more weeks, it will be a full moon! The big kids say that werewolves transform and attack livestock during the full moon, but I don’t believe that.”

Quirin smiled fondly and ruffled the child’s hair, who made a face. 

The king and queen stride out of the castle and into the courtyard, holding a huge fancy lantern. They were accompanied by several guards.

“Rapunzel’s birthday,” Varian explained. “She must have some bad flashbacks to former birthdays...especially her eighteenth and nineteenth.”

Nuru looked at him in confusion. “I know what happened on the day she turned eighteen, but what about her nineteenth birthday?”

Varian faltered. “You-you guys will probably see soon enough, with my luck.”

Little Varian sighed. “I hope the lost princess can find her way back home this year.”

Quirin smiled sadly. “I hope so, too, buddy.”

The king and queen released their lantern, followed by the rest of their gathered subjects. Little Varian helped his father fly their’s up, and the boy stared in wonder as the lights drifted across the water and out of sight.

Varian smiled softly, enjoying the nice moment. But then, of course, it had to change to another unpleasant scene.


End file.
